Articles

Mission of the Soviet Information Bureau in Japan in 1946–1952: the difficulties of Soviet advocacy under the American occupation

The article examines the activities of the Soviet Information Bureau Mission in Japan in 1946–1952. Its work was a means of cultural and communication influence on the Japanese public and a means of creating an attractive image of the Soviet state. The author traces the process of establishing Soviet Mission and the conditions of its work in the country occupied by the American army. Basing upon archival documents, the author has identified the main directions of activity of the Sovinformburo Mission. It issued bulletin, distributed information among publishers and agencies, broadcasted Moscow programs, communicated directly with the public in Tokyo. The article presents the responses of Japanese to the Soviet materials and information in the press, radio, broadcasts by Moscow. The author reveals the difficulties of the Mission work in Japan. Main partners of the Soviet Mission were the Society Sino-Soviet friendship and the Communist Party of Japan, as well as such social structures as Vseyapponskaya (All-Japanese) Federation of Students, the agency “Renshaw tsuho”, the newspaper “Unity and Liberation”, the League of the student newspaper, the Society research work, All Japan Federation of Democratic Women, youth organizations of individual schools. The author concludes that the Mission helped in preparing the Japanese public opinion for the making of bilateral Soviet-Japanese agreement in 1956 year.

Keywords: Mission of the Soviet Information Bureau, the Press Bureau of the Federal Council for Japan, censorship, radio broadcasts, the Society of Japanese-Soviet friendship